Blog
Letchworth Farm B&B
Long before the gig economy, the B&B was a thing. And Letchworth Farm Guest House is one of the most beautiful. The house is part of an equestrian estate owned by Richard and Daisy Trayford, who breed, sell, and train horses, and compete in evening in the UK, Europe, and…
How Our Scrub Bee Is Made
I’ll bet you wondered! Scrub Bees aren’t soap–they’re a solid sugar scrub you use in the shower, after you wash. Rub the bar on any bits that need exfoliating–knees, elbows, that spot on the back of your arm that’s always dry… Then give it a quick rinse. The plant-based emulsifier…
Customize Those Gifts!
We love our little logo bee, so we stamp her on our soaps and fizzies. By hand. When you’re giving gifts to your donors, clients, or employees, personalize it the same way. Handmade says that you care, that you’re going the extra mile for the people who make your work…
Melt Alert!
The Ithaca weather lately has alternated between blazing hot and rainy drab. Today is blazing hot! Our balms and butters do not love this heat; they are designed to melt at skin temperature–around 90℉ or so. And if that’s the temp of your house today, well… If possible, keep your…
Working The Bees
Last winter was awful. It went on forever, and temperatures fluctuated from unseasonable highs to ferocious lows. And it killed all 6 of my colonies. Ugh. Fifty percent mortality is not unheard of, but all 6? Even though I prepped them for winter, fed them, treated for mites, provided ventilation….
Who Doesn’t Love A Good Bath Fizzy?
Baths are not for getting clean. A tub full of warm (or hot!) water with fabulous additives relaxes your muscles, opens your pores, softens your skin, and lightly moisturizes and fragrances your whole body. On a summer day like today, when it’s almost 100F outside, make that a cool bath…
Our Summer Scent & Take-Along Lotion Packs
If you love our Yael summer scent, grab a few bars of soap now! We made one batch, and it’s selling out fast! And so that you can enjoy it all day, we’ve added bath fizzies and a lotion. We’re also experimenting with ways of packaging our lotions so that…
New for Spring! Ginger & Frankincense
Spring is my favorite season. It’s exuberant and life-affirming. I love the violets at the edge of the woods, the frogs peeping from the pond, and, of course, the bees flying to forage for willow and maple pollen and nectar. Those first warm days, when snow is melting and the…
Avital’s in the GreenStar News!
The December Green Leaf GreenStar did a feature on Avital’s in their Green Leaf monthly! They took some beautiful pictures of my bees (and a great one of me!). Read all about it!
So Much Planning…
Back when I was a system administrator, work was simpler. There were the immediate response things, like a flood of spam or a server that needed repair. And there were the projects, which involved new software, or upgrades. The projects were mostly easy to break down into checklists that could…